harpersfallsfandomcom-20200214-history
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts is the setting of the long-running Harpers Falls franchise; more specifically, the setting of the current incarnation of Harpers Falls. New England's premier city The city of Boston is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as its capital city, and the principal metropolis of the entire New England region of the Northeastern part of United States. World famous for its major role that it played in the American Revolution as well as being one of the oldest and most historic cities in the nation, Boston has a charm and appeal all its own. The city was founded in 1630 on the Shawmut Peninsula by John Winthrop, who landed in what is now the Beacon Hill area. One of the Back bay Streets is named after St. Botolph, the patron saint of travelers and various aspects of farming. The town was originally called Botolphston, in honor of St. Botolph, but was later changed to Boston. It was the birthplace of the American Revolution, widely known for the Boston Tea Party as well as the infamous Boston Massacre and many Revolutionary battles scattered around the area. As the principal city in the New England region, it is the main city of choice for people to get real specialized medical care, education; and financial business. In real life, several TV shows were set in Boston. The most memorable of those were the sitcom, Cheers (which was set at the Bull and Finch Bar on Beacon and Brimmer Streets, where some of the Harpers Falls characters have been seen); and the long-running Medical drama, St. Elsewhere (character Kevin Auschlander is considered to be the son of the late Dr. Daniel Auschlander, played by Norman Lloyd on St. Elsewhere). The Franklin Square Apartment complex near Franklin and Blackstone Squares, which was formerly known as the St. James Hotel, was the building that stood in for the fictional St. Eligius Hospital. Also the series, Spenser: For Hire, was filmed on location in Boston (as Harpers Falls is), and was based on the books written by the late author Robert B. Parker, who was a real-life Bostonian. The famous Erich Segal novel, Love Story was set in Boston (Segal had been a student and a teacher at Harvard) and its sequel, Oliver's Story was also set in Boston, as were the movies that had been based on both. The novel, movie and television series, The Paper Chase was also set at Harvard (it was also thought that Dylan Harper was a student of the fictitious Professor Charles Kingsfield, the role played by the late John Houseman). Boston's many attractions are about as famous as the city itself. Among the many and varied attractions all over the city include: *The Boston Common *Harvard University *MIT *Tufts University *Brandeis University *Boston College *Radcliffe College *the New England Aquarium *the Public Gardens *Faneuil Hall *Quincy Market *Old North Church *The Boston Symphony Orchestra (where character Michelle Harper was the youngest first chair cellist and still is a cellist to this day) *the famous Boston Pops Orchestra (which Michelle has also played with) *The State House *The Museum of Fine Arts *The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of Art (where some of the socialites have had some fancy meetings) *the John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum *The Mother Church (the headquarters of the Christian Science movement) *Fenway Park, home stadium for the Boston Red Sox *The TD Gardens, home of Basketball's Celtics and Hockey's Bruins *Gillette Stadium in suburban Foxborough, the home of the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution soccer team *Copley Square and Copley Plaza (both named after American painter John Singleton Copley, who lived in Beacon Hill in the 19th Century) *Newbury Street, one of the best shopping streets in Boston *the Downtown Crossing, downtown's main shopping area *Trinity Church (where Aaron Harper and his nephew Dylan were married) *The world famous Boston Marathon Along with the above, there are also the various suburban communities around Boston Proper Cambridge; Somerville; Watertown; Waltham; Needham. Much of the action in the current incarnation of Harpers Falls is set in the residential Beacon Hill area, where most of the Harper family and their close friends and associates live. They mainly live in the exclusive and extremely high-end Louisburg Square area. Although they are basically enclaved in Louisburg Square, some of the other family members live in outlying areas; Hannah Harper Atchley for example lives in Cambridge with her husband, Craig; her daughter, Maggie and her new granddaughter, Celestina in his family's mansion; her cousin, Lorraine also lives in Cambridge, but she lives near the Harvard Square area, where she owns her natural foods store. Another niece, Aurora Harper, lives near the Harvard Square area as well, as she owns a New Age bookstore in that area of Cambridge. She works more at the Boston Bistro, a restaurant in the Copley Square area, which allows for her new friend, Augusta Slater, a fellow New Age practitioner to run the store. Still some of the others live in areas all over Boston. Patricia Wheeler lives on Boylston Street, in the Back Bay area; Astrid McIntyre lives in the Fens area as does attorney Anngelique Minzell; while for a time, Erica Harper lived in the more working-class South Boston area. Other characters tend to live in the Back Bay area, which is equally desirable, but not as much as Louisburg Square. Attorney and Harper relative, Jay Morrison (his aunt is Veronica Harper's wife, Adrienne lives in an apartment on the aforementioned St. Botolph Street; other newcomer characters, Scott Ames; his wife, Diana Ames; AJ Crawford and his boyfriend, Jamie Minzell, Anngelique's brother; Darren D'Aiterio; his wife, Libby; his best friend, Albie Neuenworth Mitchell; his spouse, Jason Mitchell; as well as Lois and Lucia Jensen and their close friend, Violette Harper all live in a condo building on Commonwealth Avenue, the wide boulevard which connects the Back Bay and the Fens area. Category:Miscellany Category:Settings in HF Category:Places